7 May 2002

1. "KADEK on E.U.'s Agenda", EU Commission sources said on Monday that changing name of the PKK, which has been included in the EU list of terrorist organizations, into Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) has not been overlooked.

2. "European Union: Why add the PKK to your terrorist list now?", the European Union has almost finalized the process of adding The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to its terrorist list, even though the PKK, after its 8th Congress, which was held between April 4 and 10, 2002, declared it had ceased to exist. Members of the Congress established a new organization called Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK-Kurdistan Ozgurluk ve Demokrasi Kongresi).

3. "Ankara’s plan to counter KADEK", the Turkish government directly names those its says have ties with the PKK and its successor, KADEK. Among those on Ankara’s list are the World and European Churches Union, the Milan Kurdistan Association, the Scandinavian Kurdish Council and the groups Journalist and Doctors without Borders.

4. "Iraq's Kurds Aren't Looking for a Fight", as the Bush administration weighs the prospects and logistics of war against Iraq, invasion advocates look to Iraqi Kurds in the north as potential allies. But the Kurds themselves view this talk with more apprehension than appetite.

5. "Iraqi Kurdish groups join hands to fight Islamist radicals", the two main Kurdish factions controlling northern Iraq are pooling resources to combat Islamist "terrorist" groups they say are operating in the Western-protected Kurdish enclave, an official said Monday.

6. "Strong turkish currency raises fears of economic setbacks", Turkey, now more than a year removed from its February 2001 financial crisis, is officially in economic recovery. The International Monetary Fund approved a fresh round of financing in February, and politicians have taken pains to stress just how well everything has been going. Yet recent statements from senior IMF, World Bank and Turkish business figures have splashed cold water on the prospects of a warmer economy.

1. - Anadolu Agency - "KADEK on E.U.'s Agenda":

BRUSSELS / 06.05.2002

EU Commission sources said on Monday that changing name of the PKK, which has been included in the EU list of terrorist organizations, into Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) has not been overlooked.

EU Commission Spokesman Gunnar Wiegard had earlier said that the EU decided to include PKK and DHKP-C in the EU list of terrorist organizations, and that the name ''KADEK'' was not included to the list for the moment, but it could be included soon.

The spokesman had added that a ''consensus was reached about PKK among EU countries. If there is a successor of PKK, EU countries can also include the new name to the list. Those organizations which are successors of ETA and those which are related with ETA were taken to the list. For the moment, EU countries only wanted to include PKK to the list.''

EU Commission spokesmen said that the list of EU terrorist organizations had a lasting character, that the list could be renewed any time and that the negotiations on it were carried out secretly.

EU spokesmen said that the supporters of the terrorist organization PKK announced their changing of name in Brussels on April 16 and they saw that the names PKK and KADEK were integrated in all verbal and written statements issued after that. They noted that documents proving this link was conveyed to them by Turkey and certain EU member states.

Turkey pursues a cautious approach following the inclusion of PKK and DHKP-C in the list last week and it wants to see what is done in practice.

Wiegard said that the common attitude of EU to terrorists was officially determined and that the responsibilities belong to member states.

The sanctions against the persons and organizations which are included in the EU list change according to the laws of each EU member country.

EU sources say that the EU member states could not still have a common attitude in fight with terrorism and that certain countries are expected to take legal measures.

The Commission spokesman said that certain countries submit very serious and regular reports, while others stay indifferent.

In countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands, there are no laws that define terrorism and accept it as a crime.

2. - Kurdish Media - "European Union: Why add the PKK to your terrorist list now?":

By Nusret Ronai / 2 May 2002

The European Union has almost finalized the process of adding The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to its terrorist list, even though the PKK, after its 8th Congress, which was held between April 4 and 10, 2002, declared it had ceased to exist. Members of the Congress established a new organization called Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK-Kurdistan Ozgurluk ve Demokrasi Kongresi). KADEK elected Abdullah Ocalan as its’ new leader, despite his present imprisonment on Imrali Island since his capture in Kenya in 1999. The new organization denounced violence and declared in its manifesto that it will seek for a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem.

PKK guerillas pulled out of North Kurdistan as a goodwill gesture in response to Ocalan’s call in August 1999. Since that time no major conflict has taken place between PKK guerillas and Turkish Armed Forces and a temporary peace has returned to North Kurdistan. On one hand, Turkey is trying to fulfill EU requirements, including recognition of Kurdish rights. Yet, on the other hand they are suppressing the Kurds.

After 18 years of bloody conflict between the PKK and Turkish Armed forces, why would the European Union take steps to add the PKK to its terrorist list now? Since the PKK no longer exists, it does not matter if Europe places its’ name on their terrorist list, but, it is of grave concern to the Kurds, as a matter of principle. When Abdullah Ocalan sought refuge from European nations in 1999, the Kurds were humiliated in front of the entire world when those nations refused him asylum (except for Italy, which provided temporary shelter). Some European countries played a major role in betraying him to the Turks in Kenya. Also, the way in which Turkish authorities treated Ocalan, by blindfolding and handcuffing him, disgusted all Kurds. Even the pride of those Kurds who had fought against the PKK was hurt. It seems that the European Union wants to open those old wounds again and are putting out the Kurdish fire with gasoline.

European history shows that Europe has never been interested in freedom for other nations - only for itself. Europeans fear that conflict in Europe could have an effect on their own security and economic interests so they chose not to involve itself in outsider conflicts. When Yugoslavia was falling apart, we saw Europe actively involved because they are part of Europe.

Throughout history, the Europeans aided the Serbs, Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarian, Bosnia, Herzagovenans to obtain their freedom from the Ottomans. Yet, they did nothing to prevent the extermination of the Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Laz, and other ethnic Christians, by the Turks in Anatolia. Europe, through its inaction, shares the blame for the pogroms against the Armenians by the Turks.

In order to report on and monitor the massacre of Armenians, Britain, France and others, opened consulates in Eastern Anatolia. Consuls in Diyarbakir, Erzurum, and Van prepared numerous reports apprising their governments of the imminent fate of the Armenians. While European governments encouraged the Armenians to rebel, they did not stand firm against the Turkish government and never warned the Turks that action would be taken against them if they continued to destroy the Armenian population. Instead, they competed against each other to gain access to the Turkish market. The Baghdad and Hicaz railways are projects of that era. While this cat and mouse game was taking place, by 1915, the Armenians were liquidated and there was no more Armenian "problem" in Turkey.

Today, we see similarities between the Armenian and Kurdish issues. Of course the conditions have changed dramatically. But lets take a look at Europe’s position on the Kurdish question in general, and, Kurds in Turkey, in particular. European concern never went beyond the issue of the rights of individual Kurds in Turkey and have seldom touched upon the issue of an independent Kurdistan. In the Treaty of Sevres, they discussed a free Kurdistan, but never followed through. They have never implemented any kind of economic or military embargo against Turkey for mistreatment of the Kurds.

Based on past performance, Europe has never given the Kurds reason to believe they would ever support a free Kurdistan. European economic interests always come first. Whenever the Kurds deal with Europe, they must always remember that.

Another important issue is that Turkey is being prepared by the West to play several roles. They will be players in the Caucasus region, Central Asia and the Middle East. Turkey is also taking over command of the Afghan peace force and has been given a role to coordinate between Georgia and Azarbeijan in their fight against al-Qaida-affiliates who, it is believed, have taken refugee across Georgia’s border. A recent meeting between the presidents of Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan in Trabzon, the Black Sea coast of Turkey, clearly defines Turkey’s role in this matter. Turkey has also been given a role of protecting the oil flow for Western markets from the Caspian Sea and central Asia. They are also expected to be used to overthrow Saddam.

The West needs Turkey to participate in these roles and the new KADEK and its’ People’s Defense Forces is still considered to be a threat to European and American interests. When Turkish Prime Minister Ecevit visited the White House a few months ago, he complained that Europe had not included the PKK on its’ terrorist list. To please Turkey, the US may have pressured Europe to revise their list.

Turkey has always wanted the West to dismantle all the legal Kurdish organizations in the West . They helped in the capture of Ocalan in 1999. The next step is to get the PKK, and some say, KADEK, added to Europe’s terrorist list, which will be decided this week. If the West and Turkey are successful in adding the PKK and/or KADEK to the terrorist list, it could very well lead to an escalation in hostilities resulting in renewed conflict in the region. Europe must take this possibility into consideration and hopefully it will not be too late for the Kurds to produce a strategy that will not permit this to materialize.

3. - NTV / MSNBC - "Ankara’s plan to counter KADEK":

The Turkish government directly names those its says have ties with the PKK and its successor, KADEK.

ANKARA / May 6

Turkey has prepared a new action plan against the organisation established to replace an outlawed separatist group after the European Union included the PKK and the DHKP-C on its list of those that promote terrorism but did not include the PKK’s successor.

Ankara has developed a policy against the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK), which it sees as a continuation of the PKK, under which it will call on those giving support to the group to stop doing so. Ankara has determined a list of foreign institutions and some politicians in Germany, France, Italy and Greece it says have relations with the outlawed PKK and KADEK.

Ankara said that it would send a written statement calling on those giving support to the terrorist organisation withdraw their backing. Among those on Ankara’s list are the World and European Churches Union, the Milan Kurdistan Association, the Scandinavian Kurdish Council and the groups Journalist and Doctors without Borders.

4. - The Washington Post - "Iraq's Kurds Aren't Looking for a Fight":

IRBIL / Northern Iraq / By Nicholas Birch / 5 May 2002

As the Bush administration weighs the prospects and logistics of war against Iraq, invasion advocates look to Iraqi Kurds in the north as potential allies. But the Kurds themselves view this talk with more apprehension than appetite.

From here in Irbil, the heart of the Kurdish region of Iraq, it's easy to see why. The air is scented by orange blossoms. In the shops, you can buy everything from Turkish yogurt to German vacuum cleaners, designer Italian shoes to frozen chickens from the United States. Work has begun on converting the bullet-ridden former local headquarters of the Kurdistan Democracy Party into a luxury hotel.

Unaffected by the rampant inflation that has plagued the rest of Iraq, the Kurdish currency is a hundred times stronger than the Iraqi dinar. "In Baghdad, they call us Kuwaitis," says one young Kurd who has family in the south. Sami Abdulrahman, whom everyone here refers to as the deputy prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, explains, "We Kurds have never had it so good, and we've never had more to lose."

There is surprisingly little evidence here of the traumas suffered by Iraq's Kurds -- the repeated invasions, countless disappearances, chemical attacks and millions of refugees forced to flee across the Turkish and Iranian borders. True, a lot of men carry guns and official buildings are heavily guarded. This is, after all, still part of Iraq; Iraqi Kurdistan is more a state of mind than a state with borders. But under the protection of U.S. and British fighter squadrons since 1991, the northeastern corner of Iraq has transformed itself into a place of peace, relative prosperity and de facto autonomy.

The new vigor of the Kurdistan Regional Parliament is a symbol of this progress. Once, it rubber-stamped directives sent from Baghdad. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein built an army base opposite the parliament, as a warning to any local politicians with delusions of grandeur. Now, however, the parliament passes laws of its own and the base has been turned into a public park. Political parties, TV stations and newspapers cater to the region's ethnic and religious minorities.

The thought of risking all this for a new war led by the United States is disquieting. Kurdish leaders remember the catastrophic effects, in the 1970s and 1991, of naive faith in U.S. promises, when the United States encouraged Kurds to rebel and then failed to protect them. "Let's be frank," says Abdulrahman. "The U.S. has let us down badly in the past. We must be sure the same will not happen again." Another senior parliamentary official says, "I think every Kurd would be glad to see Saddam gone." But, he adds, "we must have solid guarantees that our future will not be a carbon copy of our past."

The Kurds also fear that a U.S. attack on Saddam would uproot U.N. Resolution 986, the real seed of the Kurdish spring. Adopted in 1995 to ease the worst effects of the international embargo on Iraq, this oil-for-food program provides money to Iraq in exchange for petroleum exports. The Kurds receive 13 percent of the funds, which account for 60 percent of their $1.5 billion annual economy, according to the speaker of the regional parliament. "For the first time, we have had money to spend on humanitarian purposes, health, education, housing and basic foodstuffs for all," says Jamal Abdulhameed, health minister in Irbil. Seventy percent of villages now have a clean water supply, according to Kurdish government statistics. Cases of cholera and typhoid have all but disappeared. A joint UNICEF-Ministry of Health survey last year showed that cases of infant malnutrition to have dropped from 28 percent in 1994 to 10 percent in 2001. Infant mortality rates are half those in the rest of Iraq.

If war broke out, however, it would interrupt food and oil supplies, which travel to Kurdistan by way of storage places in Mosul and Kirkuk, both under Hussein's control.

In addition, Kurds worry that a new, U.S.-supported regime installed in Baghdad would end the oil revenue-sharing arrangement. Kurds fear a new Iraqi ruler would be cast in the mold of Saddam, perhaps one of his Sunni ex-generals, Nizar Kharaji or Fawze Shamari, both of whom have defected to the West. "A terrible idea," says Abdulrahman. "The only difference between these men and Saddam is that he has his hands tied behind his back."

There is also criticism for Ahmed Chalabi, leader of the U.S.-financed Iraqi National Congress based in London. "A hotel lobby opposition, with no popular support," snorts Ahmet Sherwari, secretary general of the Irbil Communist Party Committee. "There are two groups in Iraq popular enough to form a government after Saddam, the Shiites and the communists, but the Americans refuse both on ideological grounds."

Senior officials of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of the two major Iraqi Kurdish factions, accept that an uprising supported by American airpower could topple Hussein. They point out that in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, many Iraqi provinces rose up against the regime.

But how much help could the United States rely on from the Kurds in a new campaign? The Kurds have improved their forces over the last 10 years. With a $16 million share of this year's $110 million budget, defense is the Kurdish government's second priority after education. Gen. Babekir Zebari, commander of forces in the westernmost of the three semi-autonomous Kurdish provinces, presides in a marble-clad, neo-classical pile that local cynics call "the White House."

Still, there are shortcomings. "Defense budget is a misnomer," says Abdulrahman, "None of our neighbors would ever sell us weapons." Though the Iraqi army is weaker than it was a decade ago, Zebari is not confident his men can stop it. "We have no heavy artillery," he says. "Our rocket-propelled grenades can be effective against tanks at close range, but they are no good at all against Iraqi T-72 [tanks]."

Gerard Chaliand, who studies guerrilla warfare and is the author of several books on the Kurds, agrees. "Without support in the air, the Kurds can do nothing against Saddam's troops in open ground," he says. "Everything will depend on the rapidity of the U.S. attack. If the Iraqi army is pushed onto the defensive, the Kurds could provide very useful reinforcements."

Mountains, ideal territory for the peshmerga or Kurdish guerrillas, cover much of the region. But at least 65 percent of the population lives on the plain abutting the area under Baghdad's control. The three largest cities of the region, Dohuk, Irbil and Sulaymaniyah, are just three to 12 miles from Iraqi front lines. "If the Americans miscalculate at all, the cities will be in Iraqi hands within hours," says Chaliand. "It could be a repeat of 1991."

And for the Kurds, another chapter of American betrayal.

Nicholas Birch is an Istanbul-based freelance journalist who visited the Kurdish area of Iraq from April 8 until April 19.

5. - AFP - "Iraqi Kurdish groups join hands to fight Islamist radicals":

DUBAI / May 6 2002

The two main Kurdish factions controlling northern Iraq are pooling resources to combat Islamist "terrorist" groups they say are operating in the Western-protected Kurdish enclave, an official said Monday. The agreement on security cooperation, including the establishment of a joint operations center, was sealed at a meeting in Germany last month between Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) chief Massoud Barzani, the PUK's Latif Rashid told AFP.

Rashid, the PUK representative in London, said the two leaders also agreed during their mid-April meeting to complete the implementation of a 1998 US-brokered peace deal, including holding elections for a new parliament and forming a joint government in the area that has been off limits to Baghdad since the 1991 Gulf War.

The meeting, the third between Talabani and Barzani since the Washington deal, finalized a PUK-KDP agreement to establish a joint center to "share intelligence and combat terrorism" if the need arises, Rashid said by telephone from the British capital.

He said the anti-terror effort targeted "some extremist groups," chiefly an outfit going by the name of "Ansar al-Islam" (Supporters of Islam).

"Ansar al-Islam" comprises a number of groupings, including 200-to-300 members of the so-called "Jund al-Islam" (Soldiers of Islam), "some of whom admit to having had links" with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and received training in Afghanistan, according to Rashid.

"Jund al-Islam" are suspected of being behind an April 2 attempt on the life of a top PUK official that left five bodyguards and two attackers dead, he added.

The PUK has had problems in recent months with Islamist radicals based in the part of Iraqi Kurdistan it controls, pushing them back to the mountainous Biara region bordering Iran.

Rashid said no US officials were present at the Germany meeting, which culminated a series of PUK-KDP contacts in Iraqi Kurdistan amid a steady improvement in ties between the two rivals.

Talabani and Barzani agreed to reopen offices of each of their respective parties in the area controlled by the other side, he said.

Rashid dismissed suggestions that the meeting was linked to US plans to launch a military strike against Iraq and try to unseat President Saddam Hussein, saying Washington was so far not coordinating with the Kurdish parties on such a move.

But the position of both groups is that they are only interested in military action that would "bring about radical change from dictatorship to democracy" in Iraq, not in some kind of "palace coup" or a strike that would damage the Iraqi infrastructure, he said.

6. - Eurasia Net - "Strong turkish currency raises fears of economic setbacks":

ISTANBUL / by Jon Gorvett / 7 May 2002

Turkey, now more than a year removed from its February 2001 financial crisis, is officially in economic recovery. The International Monetary Fund approved a fresh round of financing in February, and politicians have taken pains to stress just how well everything has been going. Yet recent statements from senior IMF, World Bank and Turkish business figures have splashed cold water on the prospects of a warmer economy.

The Turkish lira trades at high exchange rates to major world currencies, but Turkey’s economy has not grown appreciably, and its Finance Ministry is carrying out a major banking reform that may sap consumer confidence. Jitters have surfaced in Ankara because an overvalued currency and a banking sector problem foreshadowed the 2001 crisis.

Confusingly, it’s Turkey’s strong currency that worries financial experts. Last year, a crisis in Turkey’s banks led to a rapid and largely uncontrolled devaluation in the Turkish lira. [For more information see the EurasiaNet Business and Economics archive]. Before the crisis, a US dollar traded for around 650,000 lira. By the end of the summer, the same amount of lira was worth less than thirty cents. Over the last few months, though, the lira has gained value, appreciating by some 20 percent.

A more valuable – "stronger," in economic parlance – lira will make Turkish exports more expensive, which is one worry. The other concern is that Turkey’s banks, which have long struggled to keep cash plentiful, are trying to make money off the strong lira by borrowing foreign currency to buy Turkish-denominated bonds. Inside the country, inflation is running around 65 percent, so banks can achieve fast and dramatic gains by borrowing foreign currency, buying bonds, and paying back the loan with highly valued Turkish lira. But this only works as long as the lira keeps growing more expensive on world currency markets. If currency traders start to discount the Turkish lira, the banks could end up owing money they can’t repay. And the possibility of default could cause another bank run.

While currency trading can keep banks liquid and promote wealth, it does not necessarily stimulate investment in infrastructure and jobs. For that reason, some observers want to see Turkey’s fiscal and monetary policies focus on economic growth. "I think the biggest focus must be on growth," Ajay Chibber, the World Bank’s representative in Turkey said in late April. "This will require focusing also on the exchange rate because the competitiveness of the real exchange rate is an issue now."

Looming foreign exchange debts also dominated the remarks of billionaire industrialist Sakip Sabanci – one of Turkey’s most powerful business leaders. In a late April speech at the World Turkish Businessmen’s Convention in Istanbul, Sabanci lambasted the government over the scope of its debts to the IMF and other international lenders. Since the crisis, Turkey has become the biggest IMF debtor, tacking on another billion dollars to its $31 billion obligation in April. "We spent US $200 billion," said Sabanci, referring to Turkey’s total debts, which reached $90 billion of domestic debt at the end of March. "We couldn’t reduce inflation," Sabanci continued. "Did we manage to complete privatization? Is the stock exchange any good? No."

More public comments like Sabanci’s could certainly hurt the lira. While the government condemned Sabanci’s remarks, the business community praised him for making them – particularly his reference to privatization. Since the 1980s, Turkey has been privatizing its huge state industries, but the process has gone slowly. [For more information, see the EurasiaNet Business and Economics archive]. Ugur Bayar lost his job as head of the privatization authority on April 10, allegedly after fighting with government ministers over the sharing of information. Without Bayar, whom international news organizations portrayed as a well-respected professional, worries about the pace and depth of privatization figure to spread.

Privatization and financial retooling bring political pain that could in turn bear on the exchange rate. The IMF recently called on Turkey to trim around 100,000 jobs in state industries and departments, a move likely to meet heavy resistance. At the same time, the IMF’s proposed major reform in the banking system is already underway. Under the reform, Turkey’s banks must hold a certain minimum level of liquidity in order to retain their operating licenses. If they do not have this level, the government will use IMF and World Bank money to help them reach it. Officials hope this technique will strengthen the banking system and bring back confidence, which has suffered amid the collapse of a number of banks.

But to become eligible for an infusion, institutions have to open their accounts to government inspectors. This is a routine process in many countries, but Turkey has never attempted it in this detail. What inspectors find – in matters having to do with foreign exchange and other activities – will determine how much cash international lenders need to provide. This amount is subject to great conjecture. If banks have a lot of money riding on the strong lira, inspectors might criticize them and issue reports that would hit consumer confidence and could effect the exchange rate. Inspectors’ reports are due any time over the next two months. There are plenty of Turks, and foreign investors, quietly holding their breath.

Editor’s Note: Jon Gorvett is a freelance journalist based in Istanbul.